NDSU?

[grizzaholic]

NDSU can absolutely pull an upset. No question in my mind. This team has the potential to be much better than the '11 and '12 National Championship teams and will be one of the best defenses in the nation, not just FCS either. This is a team that has played 30 games in 2 years and most of ours seniors have played 40 games in their careers. Nothing will intimidate them because they've been in a ton of pressure packed situations over the last 3 years. They will have to play one heck of a game but I will not be shocked if we pull out an upset. I will be more shocked if we lose big.

NDSU will beat KSU this year and run the table?

[grizzaholic]

NDSU will beat KSU this year and run the table?

I doubt we would go undefeated even if we pull the upset. Margin for error in the Missouri Valley is slim to none but we are capabale of three peating. If we play well maybe 1 or 2 losses. Many tough road games this year

WHAT??? You mean to tell me you wouldn't compete in the SEC, or NFC North, this year???? I must have heard different.

[rkwittem]

Seriously, the biggest distinction that Bill Snyder gets from me and others is the fact that he is the ONLY guy who has ever been able to win at K-State. Look it up- no one else has been even close to him at that school. He has turned chicken **** into chicken salad at that school.

Snyder is notorious for winning a lot of games scheduling bad teams, just like the Gophers have been doing. The only difference is K-State has been winning the patsy games and Minnesota isn't. When has Snyder won a big game for a National Championship? There is a lot of pressure that comes with coaching a Notre Dame or Oklahoma, could Snyder handle the pressure, we don't know, and will never know. Great coach, but not at the highest level.

The obvious big game win on his resume was 2003 Big XII title game when they upset OU to make it to the '04 Fiesta Bowl.

I want to see the tables turned- can Nick Saban win in Manhattan? I doubt it- he was barely good at Michigan State. He had ONE nine-win season there. He didn't start winning until he got to LSU. Sure he could maybe recruit better than most non-Snyder guys did there because of name value. But he wouldn't win many Big XII titles there. Again, the standard for me is if a guy can turn water into wine. Saban can't. Snyder has. Meyer has. The Minnesota comparison is absurd and completely unwarranted. KSU has beaten UT and OU in each of the last 2 years (either one of them or both of them). Minny has had no shot at beating Michigan, Ohio State, Wisconsin, or Nebraska in the last decade, more or less.

[Gil Dobie]

Snyder is notorious for winning a lot of games scheduling bad teams, just like the Gophers have been doing. The only difference is K-State has been winning the patsy games and Minnesota isn't. When has Snyder won a big game for a National Championship? There is a lot of pressure that comes with coaching a Notre Dame or Oklahoma, could Snyder handle the pressure, we don't know, and will never know. Great coach, but not at the highest level.

The obvious big game win on his resume was 2003 Big XII title game when they upset OU to make it to the '04 Fiesta Bowl.

I want to see the tables turned- can Nick Saban win in Manhattan? I doubt it- he was barely good at Michigan State. He had ONE nine-win season there. He didn't start winning until he got to LSU. Sure he could maybe recruit better than most non-Snyder guys did there because of name value. But he wouldn't win many Big XII titles there. Again, the standard for me is if a guy can turn water into wine. Saban can't. Snyder has. Meyer has. The Minnesota comparison is absurd and completely unwarranted. KSU has beaten UT and OU in each of the last 2 years (either one of them or both of them). Minny has had no shot at beating Michigan, Ohio State, Wisconsin, or Nebraska in the last decade, more or less.

I was comparing the scheduling of patsies that Minnesota was doing with the scheduling of patsies that K-State won many games against to pad Snyders win total, not the quality of Minnesota vs K-State which as you stated would be absurd. Saban probably would not have as many wins as Snyder at K-State, because he would have scheduled tougher opponents. Saban won 9 games in his only season at Toledo, 9 games in his 5th season at Michigan St and moved on to greener pastures, Snyder won 9 games in his 5th season at K-State. I like Snyder better than Saban, but looking at it objectively, Snyder did not advance to the level of Saban.

[rkwittem]

Snyder is notorious for winning a lot of games scheduling bad teams, just like the Gophers have been doing. The only difference is K-State has been winning the patsy games and Minnesota isn't. When has Snyder won a big game for a National Championship? There is a lot of pressure that comes with coaching a Notre Dame or Oklahoma, could Snyder handle the pressure, we don't know, and will never know. Great coach, but not at the highest level.

The obvious big game win on his resume was 2003 Big XII title game when they upset OU to make it to the '04 Fiesta Bowl.

I want to see the tables turned- can Nick Saban win in Manhattan? I doubt it- he was barely good at Michigan State. He had ONE nine-win season there. He didn't start winning until he got to LSU. Sure he could maybe recruit better than most non-Snyder guys did there because of name value. But he wouldn't win many Big XII titles there. Again, the standard for me is if a guy can turn water into wine. Saban can't. Snyder has. Meyer has. The Minnesota comparison is absurd and completely unwarranted. KSU has beaten UT and OU in each of the last 2 years (either one of them or both of them). Minny has had no shot at beating Michigan, Ohio State, Wisconsin, or Nebraska in the last decade, more or less.

I was comparing the scheduling of patsies that Minnesota was doing with the scheduling of patsies that K-State won many games against to pad Snyders win total, not the quality of Minnesota vs K-State which as you stated would be absurd. Saban probably would not have as many wins as Snyder at K-State, because he would have scheduled tougher opponents. Saban won 9 games in his only season at Toledo, 9 games in his 5th season at Michigan St and moved on to greener pastures, Snyder won 9 games in his 5th season at K-State. I like Snyder better than Saban, but looking at it objectively, Snyder did not advance to the level of Saban.

You can't argue that Saban would schedule harder since he himself has loaded up on crap in his SEC time. At least one FCS team per year. And usually a MAC team. Sure, they play a tough BCS team once a year (props to that) but let's not act like Saban isn't as guilty as Snyder. The big boys are all guilty to a degree.

For me coaching is about players. It's harder to get players to Manhattan than it is to get them to anywhere Saban coached. That's why the KSU job is probably the toughest BCS job out there. Maybe there's another one, like Indiana or maybe a UConn-like program. IDK.

The fact is, Snyder is not going to overlook NDSU, I don't expect Beck to play (what is his status, anyway) and the Wildcats will roll the Bison. That's what I expect.

[Bison Fan in NW MN]

The Bison have a shot at beating K State, not by 20 though. They need to replace 9 defensive starters and their all everything QB. No way are they running on 'all cylinders' for the first game of the year. Ya, the Bison will probably lose but they definitely have a good chance of winning also.

Your 'glass 1/2 empty' attitude would have the Cobbers beating us this year....

Oh, the Bison would crush Concordia. But not a decent Big XII team with the 2nd- or 3rd-best coach in the country at the helm and 9 returning offensive starters.

NDSU has no shot at beating Kansas State. They return their whole offensive line their QB choices are either an Ell Roberson clone (played QB at K-State with Darren Sproles) or the reigning JUCO player of the year. Either one will probably be one of the 5 best QBs NDSU has played in the last 2-3 years.
More than anything, the main reason I am going all in on KSU in that game is because they have Bill Snyder. K-State 2013 is light years ahead of where any of those Gopher/MAC teams NDSU beat in recent years was at. They have a good chance? Then you say they'll "probably lose?" Pick one and stick to it. I'm going to just go ahead and say KState wins by at least 13 points. People acting like they are chopped liver just because they don't have Klein or a bunch of new guys is insane. Look at Snyder's track record.

In any case, losing to KSU won't hurt NDSU's playoff chances at all.

You're damn right NDSU has a good chance of winning, in fact, I expect them to win. No shot....really? I just did pick one.

I don't remember any Bison fan saying K State is going to be a 'push-over' or they are chopped liver.

Ya, their O-line returns and will be pretty good. But on the same note they replace 9 defensive starters also. K State is in nobody's top 10, they are a few top 25s or top 30s.

LOL....Snyder is a good coach but doesn't walk on water....

We'll see.

[Bison Fan in NW MN]

NDSU can absolutely pull an upset. No question in my mind. This team has the potential to be much better than the '11 and '12 National Championship teams and will be one of the best defenses in the nation, not just FCS either. This is a team that has played 30 games in 2 years and most of ours seniors have played 40 games in their careers. Nothing will intimidate them because they've been in a ton of pressure packed situations over the last 3 years. They will have to play one heck of a game but I will not be shocked if we pull out an upset. I will be more shocked if we lose big.

Agree

[rkwittem]

Oh, the Bison would crush Concordia. But not a decent Big XII team with the 2nd- or 3rd-best coach in the country at the helm and 9 returning offensive starters.

NDSU has no shot at beating Kansas State. They return their whole offensive line their QB choices are either an Ell Roberson clone (played QB at K-State with Darren Sproles) or the reigning JUCO player of the year. Either one will probably be one of the 5 best QBs NDSU has played in the last 2-3 years.
More than anything, the main reason I am going all in on KSU in that game is because they have Bill Snyder. K-State 2013 is light years ahead of where any of those Gopher/MAC teams NDSU beat in recent years was at. They have a good chance? Then you say they'll "probably lose?" Pick one and stick to it. I'm going to just go ahead and say KState wins by at least 13 points. People acting like they are chopped liver just because they don't have Klein or a bunch of new guys is insane. Look at Snyder's track record.

In any case, losing to KSU won't hurt NDSU's playoff chances at all.

You're damn right NDSU has a good chance of winning, in fact, I expect them to win. No shot....really? I just did pick one.

I don't remember any Bison fan saying K State is going to be a 'push-over' or they are chopped liver.

Ya, their O-line returns and will be pretty good. But on the same note they replace 9 defensive starters also. K State is in nobody's top 10, they are a few top 25s or top 30s.

LOL....Snyder is a good coach but doesn't walk on water....

We'll see.

If you had read the thread, you would have seen that I said other Bison fans have told me (in person) that they will beat KSU by 20+. Snyder singlehandedly built KSU. And he did it with no 5-star recruits and a lot of hard work.

As modern history has mostly shown, preseason polls mean very little. A&M wasn't ranked last year. Notre Dame wasn't a Top 10 team. Kansas State is not to be trifled with. NDSU's past means nothing to them. It means nothing to this game. If you want to use the past returns = future gains argument, then their (KSU) track record suggests that they won't lose to NDSU.

[ming01]

Hell no they shouldn't move up. Stay on or near the top of a lower division or move "up" into an existence of mediocrity. Contrary to local belief (among SOME of them) in Fargo, NDSU is not ready for the Alabamas and Ohio States of the world to come knocking. No, I think winning at a high level is better than being middle of the road (at best) at the highest level is better.

Someone actually told me they'd beat K-State by 20+...probably going to be the other way around. And there's more where that came from if NDSU were to ever move up. Just my 2 cents.

other than lakes or jbb who said we would step right in or ever step in with the bamas and ohio states? 99% of us know we would get beat badly by the top fbs teams. but i do agree it would be very tough to compete playing a tougher schedule and better opponents week in and week out. but now with georgia southern and app state leaving it makes more sense to leave. i would be happy to someday be in that middle tier if the bcs conferences ever split.

[ming01]

The Bison have a shot at beating K State, not by 20 though. They need to replace 9 defensive starters and their all everything QB. No way are they running on 'all cylinders' for the first game of the year. Ya, the Bison will probably lose but they definitely have a good chance of winning also.

Your 'glass 1/2 empty' attitude would have the Cobbers beating us this year....

Oh, the Bison would crush Concordia. But not a decent Big XII team with the 2nd- or 3rd-best coach in the country at the helm and 9 returning offensive starters.

NDSU has no shot at beating Kansas State. They return their whole offensive line their QB choices are either an Ell Roberson clone (played QB at K-State with Darren Sproles) or the reigning JUCO player of the year. Either one will probably be one of the 5 best QBs NDSU has played in the last 2-3 years.
More than anything, the main reason I am going all in on KSU in that game is because they have Bill Snyder. K-State 2013 is light years ahead of where any of those Gopher/MAC teams NDSU beat in recent years was at. They have a good chance? Then you say they'll "probably lose?" Pick one and stick to it. I'm going to just go ahead and say KState wins by at least 13 points. People acting like they are chopped liver just because they don't have Klein or a bunch of new guys is insane. Look at Snyder's track record.

In any case, losing to KSU won't hurt NDSU's playoff chances at all.

i wouldnt say no shot. if this were the same ksu team with klein and about 18-19 starters back i would agree, but i think ndsu can play with them in the first game. Our DL vs their OL is the matchup to watch. We have done well vs other FBS teams but have not played against a caliber OL like KSU's. Which is probably a top 10 unit in the country. I think NDSU can overcome their advantage up front with turnovers. I personally think the turnover margin will determine the outcome in this game

[Bison Fan in NW MN]

Oh, the Bison would crush Concordia. But not a decent Big XII team with the 2nd- or 3rd-best coach in the country at the helm and 9 returning offensive starters.

NDSU has no shot at beating Kansas State. They return their whole offensive line their QB choices are either an Ell Roberson clone (played QB at K-State with Darren Sproles) or the reigning JUCO player of the year. Either one will probably be one of the 5 best QBs NDSU has played in the last 2-3 years.
More than anything, the main reason I am going all in on KSU in that game is because they have Bill Snyder. K-State 2013 is light years ahead of where any of those Gopher/MAC teams NDSU beat in recent years was at. They have a good chance? Then you say they'll "probably lose?" Pick one and stick to it. I'm going to just go ahead and say KState wins by at least 13 points. People acting like they are chopped liver just because they don't have Klein or a bunch of new guys is insane. Look at Snyder's track record.

In any case, losing to KSU won't hurt NDSU's playoff chances at all.

i wouldnt say no shot. if this were the same ksu team with klein and about 18-19 starters back i would agree, but i think ndsu can play with them in the first game. Our DL vs their OL is the matchup to watch. We have done well vs other FBS teams but have not played against a caliber OL like KSU's. Which is probably a top 10 unit in the country. I think NDSU can overcome their advantage up front with turnovers. I personally think the turnover margin will determine the outcome in this game

This here.

If Jensen can move the ball in the air for 1st downs, the Bison will be in the game and have a shot at winning. I'm sure K-State will load the box to stop the run and make Jensen beat them with his arm. Can 9 new defensive starters do this? Maybe. But the Bison having a veteran offense will definitely help.

Bison 24-20

[JohnStOnge]

Too small

JSO would have been all over that fish mcnugget.

Did you throw me back?

Dude, there's a big difference between that and bluegill like that depicted below. Small species, yes. But the ones you saw pictures of were solid-sized bluegill. That thing in the picture above is small even for a pumpkinseed.

On the subject at hand: I think NDSU is better off staying in FCS. However, I think going FBS would make more sense for NDSU than it does for most schools that do that; including Appalachian State and Georgia Southern.

[SuperHornet]

How's that, JSO? Despite how good they already are, NDSU is well "out of the beaten path" of FBS conferences, particularly those who would condescend to take a "D-II" (that's how the elitist fans see FCS, anyway) call-up; that is, the WAC, Sun Belt, perhaps the MAC. No conference is likely to have a preponderance of teams who will want to go there, which will not only make it hard to find an invite but to schedule OOC. This in and of itself will make life hard, even as an indy, which I don't think the NCAA allows for call-ups anymore.

App State and GASo are in a MUCH better position to move up because they're geographically well-suited to the Sun Belt, C-USA, and other conferences who might want to take them after they've proven themselves in FBS (ACC, Big East, etc.) That's not to say I believe these schools made the right decision. (I don't.) But they are not geographic outliers to likely FBS conferences as NDSU is. NDSU would be an outlier even in JBB/Lakes' wet dream of getting a bid to the B1G, which isn't likely (at least not for a first shot in FBS). Then again, the more sane of the NDSU fans aren't seeing that, anyway.

Again, this is NOT to say that NDSU couldn't handle the completion. I'm just saying that conferences and potential opponents will run and hide due to NDSU's location "out in the middle of nowhere," at least as far as the snobbish FBS/B(C)$ schools/fans go.

[JohnStOnge]

Hornet, I think NDSU has a better chance to get into what we now call a "BCS League" type conference because it can be the "flagship" in its State. Georgia Southern will always be third fiddle, at best, to Georgia and Georgia Tech. Appalachian State will always be fourth fiddle, at best, to North Carolina, North Carolina State, and Clemson.

Montana's in a similar situation. I would hope they don't do it. But to me they have more potential in FBS than Georgia Southern and Appalachian State do.

Don't get me wrong. The odds would still be against them. But I think the odds of becoming real factors in FBS are better for schools like North Dakota State and Montana than they are for schools like Georgia Southern and Appalachian State

I realize that Georgia Southern and Appalachian State are in much higher talent States, BTW. But I think names of institutions like "Montana" and "North Dakota State" that can engender impressions of "major" State institutions are more suitable for national as well as wide regional recruiting. It's kind of like Nebraska during its heyday. That State is not a talent hotbed but the program was able to cross the threshold and stretch outward. I don't think it would've been able to do that if its name had been "Nebraska Southern" or "Great Plains State" and it already had two or three well established top level programs in its State.

[tcbison]

I don't think NDSU will be moving up. Location really hurts them and what conference would take them that is better than the Missouri Valley. I do think NDSU will be committed to being in the 2nd level of football however that shakes out.

[tcbison]

The Bison have a shot at beating K State, not by 20 though. They need to replace 9 defensive starters and their all everything QB. No way are they running on 'all cylinders' for the first game of the year. Ya, the Bison will probably lose but they definitely have a good chance of winning also.

Your 'glass 1/2 empty' attitude would have the Cobbers beating us this year....

Oh, the Bison would crush Concordia. But not a decent Big XII team with the 2nd- or 3rd-best coach in the country at the helm and 9 returning offensive starters.

NDSU has no shot at beating Kansas State. They return their whole offensive line their QB choices are either an Ell Roberson clone (played QB at K-State with Darren Sproles) or the reigning JUCO player of the year. Either one will probably be one of the 5 best QBs NDSU has played in the last 2-3 years.
More than anything, the main reason I am going all in on KSU in that game is because they have Bill Snyder. K-State 2013 is light years ahead of where any of those Gopher/MAC teams NDSU beat in recent years was at. They have a good chance? Then you say they'll "probably lose?" Pick one and stick to it. I'm going to just go ahead and say KState wins by at least 13 points. People acting like they are chopped liver just because they don't have Klein or a bunch of new guys is insane. Look at Snyder's track record.

In any case, losing to KSU won't hurt NDSU's playoff chances at all.

Just curious what did you think back in 2006 when NDSU played the Gophers for the first time? I know most were calling for NDSU to get beat bad and at the time that was the best team NDSU had ever faced. Sid Hartman I believe predicted 55-10 Gophers. The reason I bring that up is not to compared the Gophers to the Wildcats but a lot of people at that time didn't expect the Bison to compete with an upper division team. In 2006, the bet I took was NDSU would lose by less than 17. I would take that bet against the Wildcats this year. Odds favor the Bison will lose but I don't think they will be pounded either. I think K-State will need to score 30 points to win, if they don't NDSU has a chance.

[Gil Dobie]

Just curious what did you think back in 2006 when NDSU played the Gophers for the first time? I know most were calling for NDSU to get beat bad and at the time that was the best team NDSU had ever faced. Sid Hartman I believe predicted 55-10 Gophers. The reason I bring that up is not to compared the Gophers to the Wildcats but a lot of people at that time didn't expect the Bison to compete with an upper division team. In 2006, the bet I took was NDSU would lose by less than 17. I would take that bet against the Wildcats this year. Odds favor the Bison will lose but I don't think they will be pounded either. I think K-State will need to score 30 points to win, if they don't NDSU has a chance.

I didn't think Sid Hartman was giving NDSU any points Talked to a K-State fan, and he thinks the game will be close. K-State has 2 starters back on defense and are looking at either Jake Waters or Daniel Sams to replace Klein at QB. O-Line is good for K-State and they return the receivers and RB's. He says the game makes him nervous. Snyder will be a better coach than anything the Gophers had. Throw in Snyder with the Gophers, and NDSU may not have won 2 games. Should be withing 17 points.

[Bison Fan in NW MN]

NDSU's style of play lends to lower scoring games.

If the Bison can control the clock and win the TOP (35-25) or even better, then they have a very good chance of winning.

[Gil Dobie]

NDSU has no shot at beating Kansas State. They return their whole offensive line their QB choices are either an Ell Roberson clone (played QB at K-State with Darren Sproles) or the reigning JUCO player of the year. Either one will probably be one of the 5 best QBs NDSU has played in the last 2-3 years.
More than anything, the main reason I am going all in on KSU in that game is because they have Bill Snyder. K-State 2013 is light years ahead of where any of those Gopher/MAC teams NDSU beat in recent years was at. They have a good chance? Then you say they'll "probably lose?" Pick one and stick to it. I'm going to just go ahead and say KState wins by at least 13 points. People acting like they are chopped liver just because they don't have Klein or a bunch of new guys is insane. Look at Snyder's track record.

In any case, losing to KSU won't hurt NDSU's playoff chances at all.

So you are saying NDSU has a shot against Kansas State

[D1B]

D1B put the Hex on Kstate. Ask Gil.

Bison Nation, you are welcome.

[Bison Fan in NW MN]

The Bison have a shot at beating K State, not by 20 though. They need to replace 9 defensive starters and their all everything QB. No way are they running on 'all cylinders' for the first game of the year. Ya, the Bison will probably lose but they definitely have a good chance of winning also.

Your 'glass 1/2 empty' attitude would have the Cobbers beating us this year....

Oh, the Bison would crush Concordia. But not a decent Big XII team with the 2nd- or 3rd-best coach in the country at the helm and 9 returning offensive starters.

NDSU has no shot at beating Kansas State. They return their whole offensive line their QB choices are either an Ell Roberson clone (played QB at K-State with Darren Sproles) or the reigning JUCO player of the year. Either one will probably be one of the 5 best QBs NDSU has played in the last 2-3 years.
More than anything, the main reason I am going all in on KSU in that game is because they have Bill Snyder. K-State 2013 is light years ahead of where any of those Gopher/MAC teams NDSU beat in recent years was at. They have a good chance? Then you say they'll "probably lose?" Pick one and stick to it. I'm going to just go ahead and say KState wins by at least 13 points. People acting like they are chopped liver just because they don't have Klein or a bunch of new guys is insane. Look at Snyder's track record.

In any case, losing to KSU won't hurt NDSU's playoff chances at all.

Nice call......

[Gil Dobie]

D1B put the Hex on Kstate. Ask Gil.

Bison Nation, you are welcome.

The Hex is confirmed.